Mass transit partially resumes; no fares to be charged today

Nov. 1, 2012

Written by

Poughkeepsie Journal

New York City area mass transit was slowly creeping back to life this morning, with partial Metro-North and subway service restored.

Metro-North Railroad is running trains on the Harlem Line this morning between Mount Kisco and Grand Central Terminal.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the subway, bus and commuter rail services will be free for Thursday and Friday, to encourage the use of mass transit as the region slowly recovers from the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy, the MTA said on its Web site.

“The gridlock we experienced yesterday shows that the New York metropolitan region is in a transportation emergency,” Cuomo said in the statement posted on the MTA site. “To get people out of their cars and onto mass transit, I immediately authorized the MTA to suspend transit fares through the end of the work week.”

Roads

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that from 6 a.m. to midnight today and Friday, entry into Manhattan across the East River bridges, the RFK Triborough Bridge, the Lincoln Tunnel and the Henry Hudson Bridge is restricted to vehicles occupied by three or more people, according to a NYC press release.

"The streets just cannot handle the number of cars that have tried to come in," Bloomberg said. "I know it is inconvenient for a lot of people, but the bottom line is the streets can only handle so much."

Metro-North

The MTA said close to regularly scheduled service will be provided on the Harlem Line today between Mount Kisco and Grand Central Terminal, and on the New Haven Line between Stamford and Grand Central Terminal

Hudson Line service will remain suspended due to extensive storm damage, the agency said.

Subways

With no electricity to power the third rail or to operate signals south of 36th Street, the MTA said, there will be no service between 34th St in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn. Service will operate from the Bronx, Queens and Upper Manhattan to Midtown and from Queens and parts of Brooklyn to Downtown Brooklyn.